We recently installed a new pole barn to replace an equipment shed that was crushed by a tree. Put a lot of effort into leveling the pad; however, did not consider drainage from the pad when prepping (our fault completely). We've now got a new barn 2' below grade on the north side with old trees and our house within 20 yards. Builder suggested a retaining wall - we are more inclined to reroute with French drains and a good gutter system on the north and east sides. Any suggestions for us?
Pole barn drainage questions
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ponytug
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You don't say where you are, but I am guessing that you have decent rainfall. How often does your soil saturate, and how often (and how much!) do you have water flowing along the lawn?
I have a few French drains, which I regard as temporary solutions as the geotextile around them will fill with sediment over time. You could cut back along the back side and get a decent slope going away from the barn in the back and put it into a real drain, and pull that out front. Depending on your expected rainfall, that might end up being a pretty substantial drain,as you have lots of uphill slope.
If it were me, I would make a swale, that dropped a foot or so out from the barn at the back over six feet or so, and then continue it downhill on all sides. You would still have the lawn and have pretty good drainage. A bulldozer or an excavator would do it quickly, but you could also certainly do it with a tractor.
All the best,
Peter
I have a few French drains, which I regard as temporary solutions as the geotextile around them will fill with sediment over time. You could cut back along the back side and get a decent slope going away from the barn in the back and put it into a real drain, and pull that out front. Depending on your expected rainfall, that might end up being a pretty substantial drain,as you have lots of uphill slope.
If it were me, I would make a swale, that dropped a foot or so out from the barn at the back over six feet or so, and then continue it downhill on all sides. You would still have the lawn and have pretty good drainage. A bulldozer or an excavator would do it quickly, but you could also certainly do it with a tractor.
All the best,
Peter
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JamesHW
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Nice looking barn! First thing I would do is install gutters on the high side to give all the water from the roof somewhere to go. You could possibly route the water through the enclosed space under the porch roof over to the low side of the buildings terrain. My choice would be the big galvanized round style gutters. Give yourself some strategically located clean-outs. Add gutters on both porch roofs as well. I might be tempted to excavate along the wall and create someplace for water to go there. Dry rock streams can be devised to move any surface water away from your structure and can be quite striking.
sixdogs
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Got to know your area of the country.
At first blush I'd bulldoze a big swale by an experienced dozer guy and then connect drain tiles underground to get that water away from the building. Need to know more of your climate but that should be fixable and work well. I've done it. No French drain.
Beautiful building.
At first blush I'd bulldoze a big swale by an experienced dozer guy and then connect drain tiles underground to get that water away from the building. Need to know more of your climate but that should be fixable and work well. I've done it. No French drain.
Beautiful building.
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Swale would be my top choice too. The least amount of infrastructure you add the less you have to take care of. Collapsing retaining walls and clogged drainage pipes are all costly down the line.
Get a laser level and grade rod and start measuring now much you need to cut that back corner/side down.
Get a laser level and grade rod and start measuring now much you need to cut that back corner/side down.
rademamj1
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A gentle swale will definitly work. I would recommend a swale in some areas, and a berm in other areas for your drainage runoff control. A berm is the opposite of a swale. Takes just a day to build and you can use clay rich topsoil or even fine grained sand mixed with clay to insure stability and permeability effectiveness. It can be trucked in and dumped on location. Use your tractor to sculpture and compact the berm into a natural look. Keep it a broad swale and berm for easy mowing, say about 15" high (berm) and/or 6" deep (swale) and 4-feet across to gently deflect and control rain runoff away from the uphill portion of your slab and back onto normal grade. Make sure its grassed over and nobody may even guess its a drainage control element.
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sixdogs
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Not quite so fast.
The advice some of us gave was guessing that you lived in a moderate climate such as southern Ohio or similar area. I was waiting for more details. If you live in a much colder area, gutters could be a problem with ice and backup that could rip them off. Mild swales could freeze enough to change the grade and a heavy rain could then go backwards. Heavy snows could slide off and build a snow dam around the building that trap water in. These things happen. Big snows cause issues with gutters.
You need to involve experienced people familiar with your climate, and micro-climate, who have enough experience in dozing, grading and drainage issues.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
You have to lower the ground around the building. You have to remove what is there until you get the ground to slope away from your building. I would want this to be at least 4 feet wide, with 6 to 8 feet being better.
If you do not remove the soil, you will have water getting to your building. In five to ten years, you will have rot.
Once the soil is removed, a retaining wall will probably be your best option. There is a chance that you could grade the rest of the hill into something attractive, but that's pretty hard to do.
French drains plug up. Some last longer then others, but they all fail.
Gutters are always a good idea unless you have shrubbery or something to catch the water as it falls off of the building. Splashing water coming off of a roof will lead to rot at the bottom of the building.
If you do not remove the soil, you will have water getting to your building. In five to ten years, you will have rot.
Once the soil is removed, a retaining wall will probably be your best option. There is a chance that you could grade the rest of the hill into something attractive, but that's pretty hard to do.
French drains plug up. Some last longer then others, but they all fail.
Gutters are always a good idea unless you have shrubbery or something to catch the water as it falls off of the building. Splashing water coming off of a roof will lead to rot at the bottom of the building.